Putting practice device



June 13, 1961 w.'c. BREWER 2,988,362

PUTTING PRACTICEHDEVICE Fil ed Nov. 25, 1959 28 22 Fig.2

Walpole C. Brewer INVENTOR.

United States Patent i 2,988,362 PUTTING PRACTICE DEVICE Walpole C. Brewer, 634 SW. 7th Court, Miami, Fla. Filed Nov. 25, '1959, Ser. No. 855,341 7 Claims. (Cl. 273-177) The present invention relates to an improved device which has been expressly constructed and suitably designed for practicing the art of putting a golf ball with a view toward increasing the skill of the user.

Although the invention is such that it may be categorized for indoor home use in provoking amusement and pastime to a certain degree, it is nevertheless an innovation in this line of endeavor in that it aids in enabling one to acquire concentration and the coordination of muscles, mind, and assists in developing ones gauging of distance, direction and eye-reasoning factors involved in actual putting on a golf green. Whereas certain prior art adaptations in this field of endeavor are classified purely as game accessories and appliances, the instant device is not to be thought of purely as a toy or wholly for amusement purposes. To the contrary, the concept has to do with a well made and carefully balanced and constructed ball putting cup which functions with such adaptability in carrying out the aims under advisement that it may be classified as a genuine skill-acquiring and putting practice device.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention a base is provided. This base constitutes the bottom of the over-all ball receiving and temporary trapping cup. To this end the upper surface of the base is smooth. More specifically, the base is fulcrumed for rocking, tilting and rolling on an eccentrically arranged ball bearing, that is, a ball bearing mounted in a socket provided therefor.

The base with its off-center fulcruming and rolling means has the forward or proximal half portion tilted by way of counterweights to assume an inclined plane, the slope of which is just right, so far as experimentation has shown, to facilitate rolling the golf ball into the cup when it is caused to travel in a path no wider than the diameter of the base or bottom of the cup.

The invention also features a screen-like upstanding fence which is in effect a miniature backstopfor the ball. This fence is attached to and rises at right angles from the margin or periphery of the rear or distal half-portion of the circular bottom. The fence in conjunction with the automatically tiltable bottom of the cup provdies a nominal catapulting action which permits the retrieved or trapped ball to be thrown back and thus returned to the person doing the putting.

A significant objective of the invention is to provide a putting and practicing cup having the construction and features briefly mentioned wherein when the stroke of the putter is right and the ball travels centrally and directly into the cup, it strikes the center of the backstop and it is returned in approximately the same manner it traveled, indicating a successful or an acceptable put. On the other hand, if a ball strikes the backstop or fence to the left or right of the center when it is cast back and returned, the user knows from the direction of the return whether the pressure of the struck ball was toomuch to the left or right of the center of the practice cup.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawing.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the improved practice cup showing a golf ball and diagrammatically indicating the direction of movement of the ball to and from the cup Eatented June 13, 1961 ice and also designating the right and wrong results suitably depicted;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view on a larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a front elevation, that is, a view observing the tilted or slanting bottom of the cup, looking at FIG. 3 in a direction from right to left.

It will be evident that the word cup is being used here because of the general resemblance of the practice de vice to a regulation golf green cup. In carrying out the invention the base 6, which constitutes the bottom of the cup, is of disk-like form and has a smooth top surface. The base may best be described as a disk which is 4 /2 inches in diameter corresponding to the diameter of a regulation. cup. In practice, this disk may be made of reasonably stiff leather or plastics or a combination of leather and plastics depending on whether the particular cup under consideration is in the low price or high price field. In any event, the proximal or forward half-portion of the cup has its leading edge 8 resting on the floor or other surface 9. The rear half-portion, which may be referred to as the distal area, is denoted at 10 (FIG. 4). Eccentrically mounted on and depending at right angles from the bottom of the rear half-portion 10 is the rolling, tilting and fulcruming means. This means comprises a suitably constructed socket 12 containing a freely rotatable ball bearing 14. The bearing is positioned a distance below the underneath side of the disk that it elevates the disk and tilts it at the declivity or angle illustrated in the drawing. To facilitate maintaining this inclined position suitable counterweights 16 are provided. These weights are glued or otherwise fastened to the underneath side of the proximal half portion and they overcome the weight of the light-weight crescent-shaped stop 18 seen in FIG. 2. The central portion, that is, the widest portion 20 is at about the central location of the ball. The wing or tip portions are graduated and narrowed as at 22 and 24-and are diametrically opposite each other. This crescent-shaped stop member may be described as a heel of requisite dimension and weight and it checks the downward swing or tilt of the rear half portion in the manner shown in phantom lines in FIG. 4, that is, when a blow from the golf ball 26 is imparted to the upstanding semi-circular fence-like guard means 28.

As before mentioned this guard or fence is preferably of open-work fabrication and is sometimes referred to as of screen-like or reticulated form. The central portion is relatively high and the end portionsgradually decrease in height. The reason for this open-work construction is to allow light rays to sweep across the surface of the base and to give an illusion which imparts an imaginary outline of the hole or cup to the user. It will also be seen that this fence is in effect a miniature backstop and it helps to trap the ball and to hold it momentarily within the limits of the cup. To this end this backstop curves forwardly at its top and sides as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The bottom of the backstop is suitably secured to the peripheral edge of the disk and outer marginal surface of the crescent heel 18. The upper edge is suitably bordered and reinforced by a binding tape 30. In the experimental model the backstop has been made from plastic screen Wire. This has the dull impact properties which do not cause the. ball to bounce back too forcefully. The center portion 32 corresponds with what may be designated as a correctly putted ball in line with the imaginary line denoted at A. In other words A and 32 combine and if the ball 26 is stroked into the cup and crosses the base midway at the line A it strikes the area 32, is momentarily trapped and then as the impact of the bail tilts the cup from right to left as shown in FIG. 2 the return action of the cup gives the ball an impetus and literally throws the ball back, at least rolls it back in approximately the same line that the ball approached the cup. On the other hand, if the putt is a bad one and is to the right of the center it would enter, let us say, the field or half B as seen in FIG. 4' at which time it would then impact the area 34 and when the cup responds in the full and dotted line manner as shown in FIG. 3 the ball is returned or shot back to the player in an otfcenter line showing that the putt was in the cup but being to the right might in actual practice have rimmed the cup and failed to sink. This same story is true if the roll' or travel of the ball is to the left of the center and enters the area C and strikes the complemental portion 36 of the backstop or fence.

It will be evident that the angle the golf ball comes back will indicate how correctly or incorrectly the ball was hit from the starting or putting point. This well balanced automatic ball returning contrivance is unique and'serves the purposes for which it is intended.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in' the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use in practicing putting, a ball-supported rollable and tiltable base provided on a rearward marginal edge portion with an upstanding guard wall and defining at putting practice cup, said base being circular in plan and having a flat top surface, said ball being an antifriction ball bearing mounted in a socket with the socket secured eccentrical ly to the bottom of the rear half-portion of the base, and counterbalancing weights carried by said base under its forward half portion.

2. For use in practicing putting, a counterweighted ball supported rollable and tiltable base having a rear and front portion provided marginally with an upstanding guard on said rear portion and counterweights on said front portion and defining a putting practice cup, said base having a flat top surface, said ball being an antifriction ball bearing mounted in a socket with the socket secured eccentrically to the bottom of said rear portion of the base, said counterweights being confined to the area of the bottom of said front portion of the base and forwardly of said ball.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 and wherein said guard comprises a fence-like backstop for the ball, said backstop being curved transversely so that a portion thereof overhangs the base, said backstop being substantially semi-circular in plan and having its bottom portion attached marginally to the rear portion of the base.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 and'wherein the underneath side of the rear portion of the base is provided with a crescent-shaped member within the marginal limits but of sufiicient cross sectional thickness relative to the position of the ball bearing that said member serves as a stop and limits the direction of tilt of the base in a straight back or a side-to-side manner.

5. For use in practicing putting indoors on a floor or similar putting surface, a bodily rockable normally tilted golf ball putting cup comprising a base having a plane top surface, meansmounted on the underneath side of said base and tiltably supporting the base in a normally inclined plane on said floor, ball stopping and returning means carried by and rising vertically'from a rearward Further, since numerous distal marginal edge portion of said base and cooperating with the base in defining the aforementioned puttingcup, said ball return means permitting a ball to enter the cup, roll up the inclined surface of the base and strike the ball return means in a manner to momentarily rock the base from a forwardly and downwardly inclined angle to a rearwardly and downwardly inclined angle, and counterweight means carried by the forward portion of the base and disposed forwardly of said supporting means and functioning to automatically return the cup to its normal ball receiving position, the return action of the cup causing the ball return means to impart an impetus to the ball whereupon the ball rolls back out of the cup and along the surface of the floor in the direction of the person putting.

6. For use when practicing putting indoors, a bodily rockable golf ball trapping cup having a bottom circular in plan, said bottom being provided with a fiat top permitting the ball to roll freely into the cup, an upstanding ball stopping wall mounted on a rearward portion of said bottom, anti-friction means mounted offi-center on the rearward underneath side of said bottom and adapted to rest rollably on a floor or an equivalent supporting surface, said anti-friction means permitting said bottom to assume a forwardly and downwardly inclined position with the forward marginal edge of said bottom residing in contact with the-floor and the bottom proper elevated above the floor and inclining upwardly and rearwardly, said anti-friction means also permitting the cup to rock and tilt rearwardly and downwardly when a ball enters the cup and strikes said wall, said means comprising a socket member fixed to said underneath side and depending therefrom and an anti-friction ball universally mounted in the lower end of said socket member, a tilt limiting stop fixed to the underneath side of said bottom between the socket member and rear marginal edge portion of the bottom, the bottom of said tilt limiting stop being rigid and disposed in a plane above theplane of said antifriction ball, and the leading edge portion of the bottom forwardly of the socket member being provided with counter-balancing weights of predetermined heaviness capable of overcoming the combined weight of the cup and limit stop but permitting the bottom of the cup to rock rearwardly from a normally inclined initial position to a rearwardly and downwardly inclined position whereby when the weights act to restore the cup'to its initial ball receiving position the trapped ball is given an impetus and whereby the action of the cup righting itself and returning to normal causes the wall to catapult the ball back to the person doing the putting.

7. For use in practicing putting, a counterweighted and tiltable base having a rear and front portion provided marginally with an upstanding guard on said rear por- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,136,153 Martineau Apr. 20, 1915 1,558,767 Smith Oct. 27, 1925 1,691,935 Patterson Nov. 20, 1928 

